Compare the diet of a seven year-old with someone aged 70 and it will be very different, but there is one constant from the cradle to the grave and right now it is in danger like never before.

From the bowl of cereal at breakfast to a lunchtime smoothie and the hot drink at bedtime, milk is something most of us consume every day. Perhaps because of that, we take it for granted but we can’t afford to any more.

Scotland’s dairy farmers are facing an unprecedented crisis as the price they receive for their milk hits an all time low.

A dairy cow is prepared for milking in Perthshire (Image: Getty)

This summer the average UK farm gate price reached 23p a litre for milk it costs the farmer about 32p to produce.

You don’t have to be an economic genius to understand why half of Britain’s dairy farmers have gone out of business in the past 15 years and why many others are on the edge.

In Ayrshire, dairy farmer Bryce Cunningham says by the time he feeds and cares for his herd, he is losing £200 a day. Ask yourself, how long could you afford to carry on like that?

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The trouble stems from supermarket price wars. Milk is a key commodity that keeps us going back to the shops. If one supermarket can sell it cheaper than another, that provides a pull which leads to the rest of the shopping going through that checkout.

The only way supermarkets can sell milk cheaper is to reduce their profit margin or cut the price they pay to those producing it. Inevitably, the farmers lost out.

But does any of this matter if it means we get to pay less for a price of milk? Crucially, there is much more at stake here than just the price of a pinta.

Farmers protets to save their dairy cows

Here in Scotland, we are really good at making milk. The climate and rainfall make for lush green grass ideal for grazing and production. As a result, the entire look of our countryside has been shaped by dairy farming for the last century.

Instead the future will be imported cheap milk or vast dairy production sheds which allow farmers to meet the price point but mean the cows never see daylight or a blade of grass. Is that what we want? There is a way to stop this. As consumers we have the power to say enough is enough.

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Would you pay more for milk and dairy to build a sustainable future for our farmers?

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In surveys, more than half the population say they’d happily pay more for milk to save the UK dairy industry.

After Horsegate and pricing scandals, the big supermarkets are very vulnerable when it comes to public opinion.